Screen Paint?

I had a Goo paint on screen, never again. It was a pain it the you know what to use, and then you have to frame it to make it look good. I have a Carada screen now, not only dose it look better, my movies look better too. It has a 1.3 gain, the thing with paint on screens is unless you paint it perfect, your gain won't be the same for the whole screen.

My Carada screen is brighter then the Goo screen was, before I got the Carada screen I got screen samples from Da-lite and Carada and put them up on the Goo screen on the wall and the BW Carada sample looked the best. Every sample I put up looked better then the Goo paint. On the Goo screen I could see lines where I must have overlaped the paint, I even went back and painted the top coat of the Goo paint again to get rid of the lines, they never went away. Like I said before you have to be perfect when using a paint on screen. I painted all the rooms in my house so I do know how to paint, I was never happy the way the Goo screen performed.

Interesting. I just bought my first PJ (Mitsu HC5500) and was thinking about going with Goo or Kilz paint from Home Depot. A neighbor used the latter and he claims it's a 1.8 gain, although I have not gone over to see it for myself yet. Anyone every try Kilz?

Good timing.

I just took down my blackout cloth homemade screen, and painted my theatre room wall with Kilz Brilliant White. I did it to be able to increase my screen size from 8' to 9'. I don't know what the gain is but it is plenty bright and looks better than my screen did. The wall is covered in black velvet around the screen area. PJ is an AE2000 1080p, shelf mounted 12' from screen.

If I ever buy a real screen, it would probably be a High Power.

Art

Wow, thanks adpayne.... now I really need to go over to my neighbor's house to check it out. Matter of fact, I may as well just take my PJ with me to see what it looks like on his wall!

I see you went with a Brilliant White Carada screen in the end. Was the GOO screen also a bright white?

A few questions:
1. What kind of paint did you get.... latex, semi-gloss, flat, etc.?
2. What is the diag meauresment of your viewable screen?
3. Did you use any primer?
4. How much paint did you use (gallons) and how many coats did you put on?

Thanks!

My Goo screen was grey, the Carada screen has more pop to it.

OK The application issues not withstanding, you are comparing a white screen to a gray screen. Naturally the white will be brighter.

It is quite possible to make a very good screen using paint. Maybe not GOO but much less expensive paint. It is all well documented in the DIY Screen section.

White will always be brighter than gay. Regardless of whether it is commercial screen paint, commercial screen material or DIY materials or paints.

tiddler, where is the DIY screen section you reference? I am trying to find out if I should use flat or semi-gloss finish for my paint. I am also using primer and going with a bright white paint. Any tips on what type of roller I should go with and sanding tips are also appreciated, thanks!

Here is a link to the AVS DIY Screen section. It is also listed as a subforum of Screens at the top of the AVS Screens page.

There is a Beginner's Guide To Simple DIY Painted Screens sticky in the DIY Screens Section. In it I have tried to summarise all I have learned regarding DIY screens and screen painting.

The best paint I have run across for a white screen is the Behr Premium Plus Ultra™ Exterior Flat #4850 (self-priming) or if you prefere to shop at Lowes then get the Valspar Duramax® Exterior Flat House Paint (self-priming)

If you prefer not to use exterior paints indoors, then I would recommend you use either Behr PREMIUM PLUS® Interior Flat Enamel #1850 from Home Depot or the Valspar Ultra Premium 100% Acrylic Latex Interior Flat Enamel from Lowes.

All of these paints has a low luster sheen. Lets call it matte not flat. Truly flat finishes are only useful for very rough surfaces. For screen surfaces that are smooth a low sheen between a flat and a satin is ideal.

All the paints listed above level out to a smooth finish with minimal orange peel texture, except for the Behr 1850. For the Behr 1850 I would recommend only using it if you will be spraying it or using the satin poly additive described bellow.

You can improve on any of the above paints by adding some Minwax Satin Polycrylic. The usual mix ratio is 4:1 paint to satin polycrylic. In the case of the Valspar Flat Enamel you can increase the satin polycrylic to a 3:1 mix ratio. The satin polycrylic will add some sheen and also cause the paint to level out to a much smoother finish.

Please skim through the Beginner's Guide To Simple DIY Painted Screens and feel free to post in the DIY Screens Section, or PM me any questions you might have.

Thanks tiddler. I was actually just skimming a lot of threads in that subgroup, including the Beginner's guide to simple DIY screens. But it appears that thread is more about people painting fabric, not walls like what I am doing (unless I have to dig deeper?).

1. So it appears from your recommendations that you don't recommend using primer, why?
2. What are the disadvantages of using exterior paint indoors?
3. Is your recommendation above based on painting drywall, wood, fabric, etc. or does it apply for any material?

Anything smooth and flat that can be painted can be a DIY screen. Most people just paint the wall. It should be smooth for best results.

Priming is always a good idea. This is especially true if the wall is a dark color. If the wall is a very light color or white then the self-priming exterior paints will work well.

Some exterior paints has insecticides as well as fungicides. Therefore they may smell and off gas more than interior paints. Generally it is not recommended to use exterior paints indoors. That based on painting whole rooms not just a 40 square foot area on the wall.

I called Behr and was told that the ULTRA was no different than their bathroom paints and should not be a problem. The Valspar exterior paint I am not sure about.

In my own case I was painting retractable screens so a self-priming paint was a real bonus. I must also say that the paints did not smell as bad as the screen when they were new. Many things we put in or homes off gas. Particleboard furniture, shower curtains, and synthetic most flooring, just to mention a few items.

Ok, thanks, that is good to know. I am leaning towards the Behr ultra 4850... just undecided on whether I will keep it white or go with the infamous silverscreen recipe. I will post a new thread...

Ideally you should use a neutral gray tint. Silverscreen is close but not a neutral gray. For a neutral gray close in shade to the SS use this formula:

Quart Custom Tint
Behr UPW (1050,1850,4850)
0 8 0 Lamp Black
0 1 1 Brown Oxide
0 0 1 Medium Yellow

There are lighter shades of gray as well. Take a look at the DIY custom tints for Behr UPW paints.

The addition of 8oz. of Minwax Satin Polycrylic to a quart of the Behr 4850, will help the paint to level out to a very smooth finish and increase the brightness of whites. So it is recommended, however the Behr 4850 really impressed me on it's own. I found it leveled out to a pretty smooth finish and once the projector was calibrated to the new gray screen, it produced amazingly bright whites and nice deep blacks. This even though my living room is all white.

So you don't recommend using the Minwax Satin Polycrylic with the 4850? Also, my room is in the basement where I have complete control over lighting, so shouldn't I go with white instead of any gray? In browsing many of the DIY screen threads, laminates look like a very interesting option (paintless) however a 120" screen with fixed frame will likely exceed $100. So I will probably just go with a cheap whiteboard, because I don't want to fool with mudding/sanding the drywall. Also, I plan on following MM's suggestion and purchase a Wagner spray painter... looking at the models available now

It's not that I am recommending against adding the Minwax Satin Polycrylic to the Behr 4850. I am simply pointing out that the Behr 4850 works very well on it's own. You are correct that a white screen is ideal for a darkened room with dark walls, and ceiling. In that case I would suggest just going with the Behr 4850 as is. It is a very white paint with a nice matte finish.

The laminates are, in particular the Wilsonart Designer White do make very good and extremely durable screens. To make a 120" screen you will need to special order a 5'x10' sheet. The laminate may cost $100+ but by the time you buy paint and a spray paint rig the cost will be pretty close. If a white screen is your choice then I would strongly recommend you look at going with the DW laminate.

Thank you VERY much for your help tiddler! So if I go the DW laminate route, what kind of gain can I expect.. 1.1-1.2? I assume viewing angles are a non-issue? What would I gain by painting the laminate with 4850... 1.2-1.3? Any other benefits?

If I have to special order the 5x10, I want to order asap so I can have it hear by the 22nd. One final question... I wanted to "future proof" my screen to support anamorphic 2:35:1 at some point in the future. I could get that size now and just mask it until ready for that... but what size sheet would I need?

Once I get all of this figured out, I guess I need to start looking at framing options...

I'm not quite sure of the gain. I'll have a look to see if it was ever measured.

I think you can also order it in a 5'x12' size to get the same height and go wider.

Some information I found:

Wilsonart "Designer White" D354-60

It is recommended that you only glue it to the outside part of the frame.

Designer White is available in 4x8, 5x8, 5x10, and 5x12 sheets.

Designer White was measured to have a gain of 1.3

Home Depot and Lowes are listed as suppliers but may not be the cheapest place to get it. Check with local cabinet shopd to see if they can do better.

Here is a link to some posts by "Clarence", one of the early adopters. He also had tried several other screen options that are listed here.

Even the Da-lite grey sample looked better then the Goo.

Before I bought my 92" Silverstar, I considered screen paint but decided against it as you do have to be very careful to get an even coat. If you're looking to do a screen on the cheap; my first screen was a 4X8 sheet of particleboard with a white melamine finish. I picked up at Home Depot for around $20. I'd guess it had about a 1.5X gain, and it actually looked really good. HD cut it to my 1.85:1 spec, and I added a flat black border by painting some cheap baseboards (also sold at HD). Beware that this screen is very heavy.

I had a few screenshot comparisons between the Silverstar and the $40 HD solution posted here; I don't know if they still exist. Of course, the Silverstar is better but is it 50X better (by price)? No.

Thanks Tiddler, I will check around for cabinet shops. I am shying away from doing any painting... there are just too many complaints (even from pros) that they can see uneven layers or lines, and I still don't know what I would gain.. 3% brighter? slightly better pic quality?

Well here I go changing things up again. It looks like my current image size (134" diag) is a height of 5.5', and it doesn't appear that anyone makes it that wide? If this is the case, I am going to have to fall back to trying the painted wall solution, which will entail going with Behr 4850 with Medium Gray tint.

Well I finally bought my Behr 4850, and I had it mixed Medium Gray. I searched at several Home Depot stores for the Minwax Polycrylic and one employee said they stopped carrying it... so now where can I find this stuff?

I also just bought a Wagner Power Painter Project (1800 psi) unit at Home Depot and it says in the manual to make sure you read the label of the paint you are using to match up the correct nozzle size needed. Well the base paint has not been thinned it yet. The specs say "maximum tip size: 0.8" but it doesn't tell me what size is on there now? The label of the Behr paint says "on semi-smooth surfaces, use a 0.015 tip". So what does all of this mean? Do I need to go buy a new tip or just thin the paint, or both?

I had to put in a reply for the Screen Goo versus other screen's..not sure how you all did your Goo, but for mine, i did 3 layers of white latex on a bare wall that was cleaned up for it.
There is only one thing a person has to do to make this product incredible, vertical strokes...that's it...most people get up there and stroke their brushes and think it should work..it won't..the idea of the screen goo is to have a the egg shell finish so the acrylics in the paint reflect off one another.
The finished result of 3 layers of white latex, and two top coats of the digital grey was amazing..and the picture kept getting better for almost 6 months..

What else, you can do as many screens as you want up to 200 inches..make 4-50 inch screens and put em away until there needed or whatever..some people i know do two 100 inch screens on wheels, put it away when the movie is over, etc...

I am loving this product, yes, would i recommend it yes..for $250 and it came with the black reflective tape and black border paint as well..just was a great deal...i have had mine for over one year now, it's 114 inches, not framed, only the black paint and border....HDTV is awesome. Took less than 8 hours to build.

Amazing on it : CSI Miami, the colors are stupid good, as well as PS3 gaming.
Hope this helps.

Well I never did find that polycrylic anywhere, so I gave up. Also never got any info or help on the Wagner nozzles, so I just returned the "cheap" $49 1800psi unit for the Wagner Pro (2400psi) unit which was $89 at Home Depot. Way more than I wanted to spend, but it was well worth it in the end. It came with the correct nozzles and has a 2-speed control, and I will find other uses for it in the future.

Covering my wall of over 160" with Behr 4850 Medium Gray was a breeze, and the paint did not mist too much either. Took about 5-10 minutes per coat (I did 2 coats) and waited about 5 hours to dry between coats. The picture looks AMAZING and all of this for only $121 total and 20 minutes of work, I strongly recommend it. And I still have half a gallon of paint left if I ever need to redo the wall, although I would probably go with a much lighter shade of gray than I picked because my basement is very dark and light control is not an issue.

I don't have any kind of borders or masking (yet) but I plan to do a black velvet over wood frame, simple solution, and/or possibly a cheap motorized curtain system a friend was telling me about. For now I am perfectly happy without a border/mask, as the room is so dark you can't see anything but the image.